TCU Senate wraps up summer planning as senators prepare for upcoming semester
Shayna Levy Assistant News Editor
Over the summer, members of the Tufts Community Union Senate spent time planning for the upcoming semester in various capacities. Members of the Senate’s executive board, composed of the TCU president, vice president, treasurer, parliamentarian, historian and diversity officer, have also brainstormed ways to adjust and improve the Senate for the upcoming semester.
TCU Senate Historian Defne Olgun, a junior, ensured senators were well-prepared for the start of the semester.
“This summer, I’ve just been getting my ducks in a row and making sure people are ready to have a good year in the Senate. That’s making sure senators know when our meetings are and front-loading some of the work in terms of creating resources for them,” Olgun said.
Olgun scheduled the senators’ annual retreat, training
weekend and weekly public Senate meetings. As part of her historian duties, Olgun also updated the Senate website and brainstormed ways that Senate office hours can be more accessible to the wider student body.
“I’m planning on taking our office hours out into the [Mayer Campus Center] so people can just come find us and chat with us there,” Olgun said.
TCU Vice President Alexander Vang, a senior, said that over the summer, senators are less active in pursuing projects than they are during the school year, and instead work more on logistics and procedures.
“A lot of the work was trying to figure out ways to streamline processes and make them a bit more formal, so that they can be more organized going into the school year,” Vang said.
“And trying to front-load a lot of that work so that a lot of things later down the line are figured out, or we have things in place ready to figure out next steps.”
Vang spent time restructuring and reframing how senators are able to pursue projects.
“We have a project bank of ideas that the [general board, the president and executive board] have come up with that we want to prioritize this next year, and we’re having senators choose which projects, out of the ones that we curate, they’re interested in pursuing, as opposed to having everyone create new ideas,” Vang said.
TCU Treasurer Brendan French, a junior, reviewed the Treasury Procedures Manual over the summer to improve the process for clubs and students on campus.
“The summer is that one time period where we have time to go back and look at our rules that guide us, to see if there are any adjustments or edits that need to be made in order to make our processes more efficient — easier for clubs who are trying to access the budgets or who are asking us for help and how to plan their events,” French said.
In addition to reviewing Treasury procedures, French has been brainstorming ways to create more councils, which oversee student clubs and are grouped based on the clubs’ interests and purpose.
“As of late, our miscellaneous council has been getting pretty big,” French said. “I’ve been thinking about how we can group those clubs that have been put into the miscellaneous council, because I think there are some common things being shared between them.”
Class of 2028 Senator Spencer Kluger spent the summer thinking about his priorities for the year.
“Myself, and I’m sure others, are thinking of: What can we do in the coming year? How can we continue past projects that we
‘Even God cannot hear us here’: What I witnessed inside an ICE women’s prison
Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk opens up for the first time about her shocking arrest and 45 days in a South Louisiana processing facility. She recalls the generous and compassionate women who helped her through this ordeal.
Zach Halverstam Deputy News Editor
Tufts has updated its hazing policy for the 2025–26 school year, standardizing reporting procedures across all campuses, establishing mandatory training for all students and mandating the university to publish official statistics in the Annual Safety Report, created by the Department of Public Safety.
According to Briana Sevigny, Tufts’ director of community standards, the amended policy comes in response to the Stop Campus Hazing Act, passed in December 2024 by Congress. The law now requires universities to disclose incidents of hazing where police or security were involved. Massachusetts state law punishes students for hazing with fines of up to $3,000 or a one-year sentence in prison.
“The most significant changes in the revised policy are additional data reporting to meet the new requirements in the SCHA
and making the policy consistent across all colleges and schools,” Sevigny wrote in a statement to the Daily. “There are no substantial changes in the way hazing is defined or what behavior is prohibited by the policy.”
Tufts’ policy defines hazing as “any activity, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate, that humiliates, degrades, or endangers the mental or physical health of someone because that person is joining or continuing membership in a group, team, or student organization.”
In accordance with regulations, Tufts will publicize hazing incidents through online data sets.
“We will publish statistics on hazing in the [Annual Safety Report] — beginning in Fall 2026 — and will publish findings of hazing by recognized student organizations in a Campus Hazing Transparency Report, which will be published online
Boston City Council unanimously passes resolution supporting SMFA professors of the practice
Josué Pérez Executive News Editor
Originally published Aug. 14.
The Boston City Council passed a resolution supporting the professors of the practice at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts on Aug. 6. Negotations for the SMFA PoPs’ first contract began in April 2024. The resolution represents the most recent attempt to address prolonged negotiations and build support for the PoPs.
In May, the Service Employees International Union Local 509, representing the PoPs, filed an unfair labor practice complaint against Tufts over several changes made to the eligibility of department chairs in the bargaining unit and the number of studio departments at SMFA. None of the changes were put to a faculty vote.
“Faculty have reported that bargaining has not been going well, and that Tufts has attempted to silence vocal union members while failing to meaningfully address their concerns,” the resolution reads.
In her address introducing the resolution, Councilor Sharon Durkan explained that the proposal was created to build on existing concerns about Tufts’ role as an employer and negotiating party.
“Unfortunately, Tufts University has refused to come to the bargaining table in good faith to address faculty requests of a modest 4% cost of living increase, along with basic institutional support and manageable workloads,” Durkan said.
In a statement to the Daily, Patrick Collins, Tufts’ director of media relations, explained the reason behind the amount of time taken to negotiate the PoPs’ contract.
“It is not unusual for firsttime contracts to take a year or more to bargain,” Collins wrote. “The parties have been bargaining through the summer months, and the University remains committed to bargaining in good faith. At one of its most recent sessions, the University offered to bring in a mediator to help the parties with their negotiations, but the Union declined to engage in mediation at this time.”
The resolution explained some of the conditions that PoPs have encountered while working at SMFA. It stated that student enrollment at SMFA has nearly tripled in recent years, while the number of full-time PoPs has dropped from 40 to 30.
As a result of the high costof-living in the greater Boston area and lack of studio space on the SMFA campus, 12 PoPs live
outside of Massachusetts. Thus, the PoPs requested a 4% costof-living increase. According to the resolution, Tufts has instead offered the PoPs a 2.75% costof-living increase.
Disparities between treatment of SMFA and Medford/ Somerville campus professors were also highlighted in the resolution.
“BIPOC and international faculty face additional barriers, including inequitable treatment compared to colleagues on the main campus, and delayed or inconsistent visa support that has left international faculty in precarious legal and employment situations,” the resolution states.
During the meeting, Durkan made note of these disparities, which she believes began after the Tufts-SMFA merger in 2015.
“When Tufts acquired SMFA, a community of independent artists, they promised integration and support,” she said. “Instead, many of these faculty members have served a similar [amount of] time to tenured professors at the main campus, but without any of the corresponding benefits or protections.”
For SMFA PoP Ethan Murrow, this resolution is a meaningful source of recognition amid contract negotiations.
“After so many months of witnessing Tufts telling us that we are not valued in the same way as other faculty on campus (or other comparable faculty at similar institutions), it felt wonderful to be recognized as educators, researchers, and practitioners who deserve to be paid and supported with fairness,” Murrow wrote in a statement to the Daily.
Murrow also noted the role that the SMFA community plays in the Boston art scene.
“I was also personally grateful to hear Councilors speak to a need to support the arts broadly in the City and how we as SMFA faculty and working artists stand as a key part of that,” Murrow wrote.
In the August meeting, City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune said that Tufts has an obligation to take care of the PoPs through the new contract.
In a statement to the Daily, SMFA PoP Jeannie Simms reiterated the importance of fair working conditions for PoPs.
“The reputation of an employer is fragile and requires ongoing commitment,” Simms stated. “We hope [Louijeune’s] words and the full resolution send a clear-cut message to Tufts to foster benevolent and fair working conditions at a moment when higher education needs to fortify its workforce and larger mission.”
Fletcher study examines socioeconomic and environmental ramifications of rapid digitalization
Eli Brigham Assistant News Editor
Digital Planet, a research initiative of The Fletcher School’s Institute for Business in the Global Context, completed a study in July that details the effects of rapid digitalization caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aimed to examine the impact of digitalization on economic evolution and the environment through a metric coined the “Burn-to-Earn” Index.
According to the dean of global business, Bhaskar Chakravorti, Fletcher was motivated by three key questions: How big is the digital economy everywhere? What is the pace of change in the growth of digital technologies? Where are the trade-offs between the benefits and the costs of the greatest?
“The Burn-to-Earn methodology fills a critical gap by delivering a globally harmonized, revenue-based measure of the digital economy that supports comparative analysis and evidence-based decision-making at national, regional, and global levels,” the study reads.
“The index ranks countries on how much they ‘burn’ in terms of CO2 emissions to ‘earn’ digital economic output,” a senior research analyst on the project, Abidemi Adisa, wrote in a statement to the Daily. “By creating a comparable measure across 126
economies it highlights who is achieving digital growth sustainably and who is paying a higher environmental price.”
According to the study, on average, the digital economies of countries grew three times the rate of traditional global gross domestic product. Despite this, there remain several discrepancies in this growth.
According to Chakravorti, European and Scandinavian countries have shown slower growth due to an already high level of digital development, whereas less developed countries have shown rapid growth as infrastructure improves and demand increases. Meanwhile, countries have also shown noteworthy differences in their level of sustainability surrounding new digital technologies and tools.
“The variation reflects differences in energy sources, infrastructure and policy approaches, which means that while the general trend is rising emissions, some nations show that it is possible to grow digital economies more sustainably,” Adisa explained in a statement to the Daily.
Business leaders could use the index to determine where digital growth aligns best with sustainability goals, namely, areas with abundant renewable resources or high demand for technology. Additionally, the use of the index can be leveraged by policymakers.
“Policymakers can use these insights to evaluate the country’s progress, set more ambitious targets, and guide investments in sustainable digital infrastructure,” Adisa wrote.
The authors of the study made several recommendations for how digitalization can occur in a sustainable way.
“Technology companies have a responsibility to invest directly in clean energy production or to locate their data centers in regions where renewable resources are abundant,” Adisa wrote.
Taking these actions would minimize the high energy consumption needed to cool excessively hot data centers, making digital tools more sustainable for the environment.
“The reason why AI is such an electricity hog is because you use up an enormous amount of energy in the data storage, data analysis and computations required for every AI operation,” Chakravorti said. “There are ways in which we can be clever about how to run the same AI operation by using fewer resources and putting a lower amount of stress on the energy grid.”
Chakravorti listed several measures to reduce environmental impacts, which included being judicious in using artificial intelligence and other technologies while also relying on renewable energy sources more heavily.
“Data centers have to be maintained at a certain temperature because they get extremely hot. So in order to keep them cool, we should try to locate data centers in colder climates so it doesn’t take as much energy to cool them,” Chakravorti said.
Economics Professor Ujjayant Chakravorty believes that the recent expansion of AI and other new digital mechanisms will make the resource industry more efficient, among other distinct economic effects.
“If farmers use AI to better target their water towards the crop that needs irrigation, then you are going to use less water and still get the same yields,” he said.
Using AI in such a way may offset some other environmental effects while simultaneously providing an economic boom to
farmers. However, other industries may be affected differently, with an added risk of job loss.
“The owners of the means of production, or the owners of capital, may benefit more than poor people who tend to supply labor because labor is going to be a little more under threat with AI,” Chakravorty said.
Chakravorti believes that while there is promise in new technologies such as AI in narrowing certain gaps, they also pose risks of widening social inequalities.
“AI systems can be a great leveler, and at the same time, AI is probably going to be one of the biggest sources of social inequality,” Chakravorti said. “It both contributes to leveling and narrowing gaps and creating social inequalities.”
TCU senators adjust and improve the Senate for the new academic year
are really passionate about? Is there anything else that came up over the summer?” Kluger said.
Kluger will chair the Administration and Policy
Committee, for which he has prepared several projects with the intention of supporting all committee members.
“I’m honored to have this opportunity … I have my intentions for the year, how I imagine each committee meeting is going to look, how I want to go about supporting everyone in the committee,” Kluger said.
For Kluger, the work senators do over the summer is about continuing to advance goals that help the student body and keeping the Senate organized.
“It’s all about how [we] can be as successful as possible as the senators, as a student governing body, and ensure the best outcomes for all of the people that we try to aim to help during the year,” Kluger said.
The Senate will host an in-person information session for students interested in getting involved with the Senate. The Treasury will also host training sessions for club signatories beginning the week of Sept. 9.
Also in accordance with the Stop Campus Hazing Act, Tufts is now mandating online training through Canvas in a course titled, “Hazing Prevention.”
The training defines hazing, describes how it manifests itself and gives resources to report it to the Tufts University Police Department and the Office of Equal Opportunity.
Evaluation through online quizzes is also included in the Canvas training to ensure students retain information from the module.
“Tufts has been providing information to all students about our hazing policy at the beginning of each year for quite some time and also providing training and information to student groups and teams for many years,” Sevigny wrote.
Hazing is prevalent at American universities, often involving sexual misconduct
or alcohol abuse. According to research from North Carolina State University, more than half of all college students experience some form of hazing, and incidents involving sexual abuse have increased over the last three decades.
Although hazing is most common in Greek life and athletics, it is not limited to those organizations.
“Hazing can appear in clubs, student organizations, professional societies, labs, athletic teams, or other groups,”
Associate Dean of Students Kevin Kraft wrote in a statement to the Daily. “There have been instances of hazing in many types of groups.”
Kraft claims that Tufts has been able to largely avoid such incidents through administrative intervention.
“Over the last 10 years, Tufts has increased efforts around hazing awareness and prevention, training for organizations and teams, reporting, and addressing concerns,” Kraft wrote. “This has contributed to a change in the culture of our
community, where there is much greater awareness from student leaders on how to create a positive and inclusive culture focused on belonging without hazing.”
Gracie Preminger, a senior and co-president of The Ivy, a local sorority at Tufts, commended the university for the rollout of its new policy.
“Tufts has always been super diligent about hazing policies, especially with us. We keep in contact with them pretty regularly,” she said. “It was nice to see that the training is required for everyone, and that they were recognizing how hazing can also happen in other settings, like in a lab or in a classroom.”
Emily Hirsh, The Ivy’s risk manager, expressed concern about the university’s ability to enforce training through the Canvas modules.
“I thought [the training] was good. I thought it wasn’t too long [or] too short. I think the one thing is people probably could skip over it,” she said.
Although The Ivy maintains a no-hazing policy, Preminger
and Hirsh both noted that Tufts is already heavily involved in enforcement. The university organizes regular meetings with risk managers from other Greek life organizations on campus.
According to Preminger, the university also monitors Sidechat, an anonymous social media app popular among Tufts students.
“Tufts Fraternity and Sorority Life — they really watch everything like a hawk,” Preminger said.
Hirsh praised the updated anti-hazing policy as a meaningful step for a campus culture that already takes hazing seriously.
“I know a lot of the other risk managers, and I think pretty much everyone on campus takes it very seriously, and if they don’t already, I think that this new education will really enforce that,” Hirsh said.
DYLAN FEE / THE TUFTS DAILY 123 Packard Ave., the former house of Theta Delta Chi, which had its charter revoked in 2017 for hazing, is pictured.
OLIVIA BELLO / THE TUFTS DAILY The interior of The Fletcher School is pictured on Feb. 28, 2022.
Interviews, applications and exams,
oh my!
How seniors feel entering their final year at Tufts
While it may seem like they just arrived on the Hill, the Class of 2026 is now embarking on its final year of undergraduate studies, a year defined by fun senior events, stressful applications and lingering course requirements. For many seniors, the end feels within reach, as most of their degree-specific classes are things of the past.
“I’m pretty close to being done with everything,” John Cha, a senior doublemajor in computer science and psychology, said. “I have one more real-ish semester, and then the spring is going to be, like, a single class. So I’m quite excited … to get back into the chill mindset.”
Instead of frantically searching for openings in required courses, students like Cha are able to explore courses that excite them and may help in their future careers. For Cha, this is Computer Science 138, “Reinforcement Learning,” or as he jokingly calls it, “big boy machine learning.”
“I don’t need [to take the course], but I’m like, ‘How am I gonna go to college nowadays and not take as many AI courses as I can?’” Cha said.
Artificial intelligence, of course, is a contentious topic when it comes to the computer science job market. In August, The New York Times reported that computer science majors face unemployment rates of 6.1% due to big tech companies opting to use AI tools rather than real people. However, as an aspiring software engineer, Cha remains optimistic.
“I feel like anyone I talk to is like, ‘Oh, you think AI is going to take your job?’” Cha said. “Like, no, probably not. … As someone who uses generative AI fairly frequently, there’s a lot of limitations, and you still gotta do a lot of hand-holding. … I think people probably have a tendency to overestimate the impact of new technologies.”
It’s not just the computer science students who are feeling the job market stress. Senior biomedical engineering major Matthew Bishop is feeling similarly anxious at the prospect of starting his career.
A Jumbo’s Journey
Just found out I’m chopped and also unc...
Ben Rachel
Well, well, well… Welcome all to another year of A Jumbo’s Journey!
This is all very exciting, but also very strange. Three years of using the Daily as a platform to yap and rant about anything that crosses my mind is definitely not what I foresaw my college experience to be.
I had a little midlife crisis during the summer pertaining to that idea. During one of my arduous commutes to the office (I was just another cog in the wheel of capitalism; Damn you society!), I reflected on my time at college. Included in that reflection was this column — this inexplicable, unpredictable and ineffable part of my college experience. I remembered all the times I sat in my dark and lonely single at 2 a.m. writing this column instead of doing my economics problem set. Unfortunately, there have been
“[I’m] excited to join the workforce, also a little scared,” Bishop said. “People at Tufts talk a lot about imposter syndrome, and sometimes I think it’s a lie, but I think other times, there is definitely this feeling of like, I haven’t ever really been tested before.”
That is not to say Tufts fails to prepare its students for the so-called ‘real world’; in fact, Bishop argues the contrary.
“I think Tufts has done an excellent job at preparing me for joining the workforce,” Bishop said. “I am anxious … but I’m going to give it my best.”
For those in a similar state of anxiety, do not despair: The Tufts Career Center has faith in your success. In an email to the Daily, Donna Esposito, executive director of the Career Center, shared her confidence in the Class of 2026.
“It’s completely normal to feel anxious about the job market, especially when the news mentions layoffs or economic uncertainty,” Esposito wrote. “Please know that Tufts students enter the workforce with resilience, adaptability and creativity, and the Tufts Career Center is an active partner in this journey. … Employers still seek strong communicators, quick learners and problem solvers — exactly the kind of thinkers a Tufts education helps shape. Even in tighter job markets, Tufts students continue to land meaningful roles.”
According to Esposito, one of the essential ways that Tufts students can obtain jobs — especially given the current job market prospects — is through alumni connections.
“Connecting with people in your desired field is often the key,” Esposito wrote. “Fortunately, through advising appointments, programs like our networking nights and resources like the Herd (Tufts’ networking & mentoring platform), the Career Center can help you make these kinds of fruitful connections.”
Furthermore, the resources provided by the Career Center do not expire upon graduation. Instead, as Nicole Anderson, senior associate director of alumni career services, wrote in an email to the Daily, Tufts provides continuous professional assistance to alumni.
many instances of that over this column’s two-year tenure…
But alas, I’m ‘unc’ now. I have bags under my eyes. My back hurts when I wake up in the morning. I’m in bed with a cup of sleepytime tea at 9:30 p.m. sharp. I’m no longer connected to relevant media and the younger generation. During one of my post-work revival sessions where I just sat in the sun and questioned my existence, my younger sister asked me whether I was a ‘jittleyang’ or a ‘fuhuhluhtoogan.’ I almost exploded. Let’s just say that was the first time I had to open up Google and search up a brainrot term. I still remember when ‘yo mama’ jokes were cutting-edge comedy. These damn kids.
While not knowing brainrot is a completely valid reason to feel like unc, there are also plenty of practical ones. First, I have completed 50% of my college experience. WHAT? I’m halfway done?? That’s terrible. I still remember moving into Hodgdon Hall like it was yesterday. Now, I am moving into an off-campus house, religiously doom-scrolling through IKEA and Facebook Marketplace. Second, this summer I had to schedule my own appointments and, worst of all, actually go alone. My mom said it was getting weird when I’d stand behind her while she talked to the doctor, only to step forward at the end and ask for a lollipop. Third, retirement accounts. Hello?
“[Alumni Career Services] staff are dedicated to working with alumni from graduation through retirement and beyond,” Anderson wrote. “New grads can look forward to a monthly professional development webinar series, small group coaching sessions, funding for professional development activities like conferences and trainings, networking panels and events with 60+ alumni chapters and professional groups.”
Of course, not all seniors are planning on entering the workforce immediately after graduation. Some, like Anika Sareddy, instead aspire to continue their education at a higher level — a process that can be just as stressful as the job hunt.
“I’m planning to go to a master’s program or a Ph.D. program,” Sareddy said. “It is very stressful, and I wished someone told me to start thinking about it in junior year.”
Sareddy has already completed her class requirements for her biology degree, meaning she can spend less time studying and more time checking Handshake “religiously.” At the Career Fair, she asked potential employers about graduate school funding — something she advises other aspiring graduate students to do.
“I wish there were more jobs that were more open about … [paying] for your master’s,” Sareddy said. “When I asked people at the Career Fair last time, they were very open about it. They were like, ‘Yeah, of course,’ … and that was really good to hear, but I feel like I just wouldn’t know about it if I hadn’t asked.”
A few incoming seniors on the pre-med track — including biopsychology major Ada Yu — are able to confidently enter their final year thanks to Tufts’ Early Assurance Program. This highly selective program grants students guaranteed spots in the Tufts University School of Medicine without an MCAT score in their junior year, allowing them to focus on their studies in their final year rather than stress about medical school applications.
“Knowing … where I’m going next year, I can appreciate where I am now a little bit more,” Yu said. “That’s the foundation of the program. By removing the MCAT
I’m not even a full-time employee. I don’t think my $4 biweekly paycheck is doing much for my golden years. Last, the big one: I found my first grey hair. After plucking it and banishing it to the depths of hell, I immediately ordered myself a casket and a headstone. Early bird discount at the funeral home, of course.
These revelations had a few effects on me (if that wasn’t already obvious). One big question was whether I should even keep this column going. Could I pump out a semester’s worth of relevant, humorous and edgy content? Honestly, I doubted I could type an entire publication without my hands cramping up.
But then I remembered the core principle of this column. It isn’t supposed to be up to date with the most relevant brainrot terms, but rather an accurate representation of my progression as a college student at Tufts. Maybe all juniors become unc and have this same revelation. Maybe this is just part of the college experience.
So, in case you haven’t guessed the ending, I’m keeping A Jumbo’s Journey alive. Which means it’s time for an introduction. My name is Ben Rachel, born and raised in Chicago, and I’m a junior at Tufts majoring in economics and minoring in computer science. This is year 3 of writing A Jumbo’s Journey, and I am officially an upperclassman! That means I now have the
requirements … you have more time to do … activities that are more meaningful.”
With extra time on her hands, Yu is able to give back to her community through the Tufts Legacy Project, an organization she leads as one of the co-presidents.
“Our main goal is to foster intergenerational connections between college students and older adults like senior citizens in the Medford/Somerville community,” Yu said. “We meet every week and have guided conversations, and at the end of the year, all these conversations … about the senior resident’s life and lived experiences … [get] published in a book.”
Similarly, Bishop is looking forward to being the president of the Tufts chapter of Tau Beta Pi, a national engineering honors society. One of his priorities is to encourage engineers to integrate more with students in the School of Arts and Sciences.
“I don’t think it’s in a hostile or exclusive way, but [engineers are] very cliquish, just by the nature of having all these classes that you have to take with [the same] group of people. And so it can feel very isolated … expanding that sort of circle of engineers and getting them more socially engaged on campus is really a priority of mine,” Bishop said.
When she’s not working at Tisch Library or in the lab, Sareddy plans to spend her senior year exploring the Medford/ Somerville area.
“I love Tufts. I’m excited about utilizing the new building, Eaton … I’m excited to explore more places that I [haven’t gone to], and there’s a couple new cafes that I want to try,” Sareddy said.
For Cha, senior year will be spent participating in intramural sports.
“I’m a sucker for sports. I’m going to be on like three intramural sports teams this upcoming semester, so I’m super excited,” Cha said.
All in all, the Class of 2026 is coming in with high hopes for their last year at Tufts and beyond.
“I’m definitely looking forward to my last year,” Yu said. “Even though it’s a little bit bittersweet, I think it’s more sweet than bitter.”
right to make fun of both first-years and sophomores. They are, after all, a stinky bunch.
To all the readers who are returning, welcome back. I’m glad you are back for another round. To all you readers who are reading this for the first time, welcome aboard! I hope you will stick with me this semester through all my rambling anecdotes and occasional wisdom. I’m going to need to gain a lot of dad-lore this semester to meet the expectations of my fans.
And with that, that’s a wrap on my first publication of fall 2025! If you are craving more, feel free to browse my past publications. You’ll notice that they have a very similar writing style and structure — looks like I can’t shake it.
So here is to a fresh start! A clean slate no matter your age or how much your back aches. Enjoy the novelty of the new semester, the chaos of campus and those fleeting sunny afternoons on Prez Lawn. Take it from me — an unc — the darker days (literally) will creep in soon enough. For now, I’ll go take my midday nap and catch you on the next one.
Creakingly, Ben Rachel
Grace Nelson Executive Features Editor
ArTS & POP CULTUre
From Vivekananda to vinyasa: The evolution of yoga in Boston
Fiona Hinrichsen Deputy Arts Editior
Today, yoga is a billion-dollar industry in the Western world, but its roots and journey to Boston are deeply complex, shaped by many influential figures from India who helped introduce yoga to the West.
One major event in the history of yoga happened around 2,500 years ago, when the sage Patanjali created the first systematic approach to yoga. The “Yoga Sutras of Patanjali” is the earliest classical yoga text and remains one of the most translated works from ancient India. Patanjali is famous for developing a more accessible form of yoga referred to as Ashtanga yoga, also called eight-limb yoga. One of the eight limbs is asana (yoga postures), a core component of modern yoga. However, yoga began to gain popularity in the West in the 19th century, largely thanks to Indian revivalists such as Swami Vivekananda.
Vivekananda first introduced yoga to the West in the summer of 1893. Professor John Henry Wright of Harvard University, impressed by Vivekananda’s knowledge and charisma, arranged for him to attend and
speak at the Chicago World’s Fair, representing Hinduism. Vivekananda addressed the World’s Parliament of Religions, receiving a standing ovation. The New York Herald described Vivekananda as “undoubtedly the greatest figure in the Parliament.”
Two years later, in the summer of 1895, Vivekananda visited Thousand Island Park, situated on the St. Lawrence River in New York. Thousand Island Park was a community dedicated to religious, social and family values. He was invited by Miss Mary Elizabeth Dutcher, an artist and cottage owner who had attended his spiritual classes in New York City. There, he led the first known yoga retreat in the United States, teaching a group of 12 students in Dutcher’s Victorian cottage over the course of seven weeks. Today, the cottage is still regarded as a sacred site by many followers of his teachings. Each summer, hundreds of students gather to study the ways of Vivekananda, whose room now serves as a small chapel.
While Vivekananda played a pivotal role in introducing yoga to the West, Tirumalai Krishnamacharya is often considered the father of modern
yoga. Although he never traveled to the West himself, his disciples — K. Pattabhi Jois, Indra Devi and B.K.S. Iyengar — spread his practice throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas. A key contribution of Krishnamacharya was Ashtanga (vinyasa) yoga; known for its energetic, flowing sequences, this dynamic style of yoga remains highly popular today. Boston also played a crucial role in yoga’s journey to the United States. In October 1920, Paramahansa Yogananda,
a monk, yogi and guru, represented India at the International Congress of Religious Liberals at Unity House in Boston, where he shared his knowledge of yoga. Yogananda is recognized in the Boston community for founding the Boston Center of SelfRealization Fellowship, now located in Somerville, as a quiet sanctuary for group meditation and spiritual study. His autobiography, “Autobiography of a Yogi,” also sold several million copies and remains highly influential; even former Apple CEO Steve
‘Together’ bends body horror into romance
When love rears its head, it’s not always a pretty sight. “Together” embraces this truth and stretches it to its most grotesque limit. Michael Shanks’ new film is not only a supernatural body horror, but also a comedy and a relationship drama. The fusion of genres is literalized in the fusion of flesh — a process that is terrifying, ugly, funny and erotic all at once.
The film centers on a young couple, Millie (Alison Brie) and Tim (Dave Franco), who are growing apart at the story’s onset. The fact that Alison Brie and Dave Franco are married in real life gives their on-screen dynamic an extra edge of believability. Teacher Millie and struggling musician Tim are rather dull, but because Brie and Franco’s performances are enhanced by their reality, the characters are made more intriguing. Near the beginning of the film, Millie and Tim move to the countryside. Their placement in an isolated, idyllic location is tropey, but it works perfectly because of the fact that “Together” derives its horror from forced proximity. There is a push and pull between Millie and Tim — they seem repelled by each other while also yearning to mend the emotional and physical gap in their relationship.
Millie and Tim fall into a cave while hiking in the rain, further
isolating them from the outside world. Here, the supernatural horror is set in motion. Tim drinks from a pool of water in the cave and unknowingly seals his and Millie’s fate. The film never explains the water’s mystical ability to fuse lovers into one being. We later find out that a new-age cult used the water, but, beyond that, the magic is a mystery. “Together” benefits from leaving an aspect of its horror to the unknown, instead of resorting to a played-out demonic explanation.
If viewers go into the film remotely knowing the premise of “Together,” they know Millie and Tim are doomed from the first time their skin seems a little resistant to pull apart. The dramatic irony is what makes the gradual increase of magnetic attraction gripping to watch. The slow build to the full-on, gross-out body horror (before it grows exponentially in the film’s second act) is half the fun. Tim being controlled in the shower by Millie’s drive to work, hair swallowed in the night, genitals stuck together in a school
Jobs, a fan of the book, arranged for copies to be given to guests at his memorial service.
Today, Boston is home to a vibrant yoga scene, with numerous studios throughout the city, including Down Under School of Yoga, Boston Yoga Union, Beacon Hill Yoga and more. This reflects how yoga remains highly relevant in our modern world. By practicing asanas, we can regulate our emotions and thoughts, fostering harmony between the mind and body. Especially for college students juggling academics, clubs, work and social activities, yoga is proven to be excellent for regulating the nervous system and supporting both mental and physical well-being.
From Vivekananda’s speech in Chicago to Yogananda’s spiritual influence in Boston, the history of yoga serves as a beautiful testament to the transformative power of cultural exchange. Rooted in ancient Indian spirituality and continuously adapting to meet the needs of modern life, yoga is truly a moving art form.
If you’re interested in exploring Boston’s yoga scene further, keep an eye out for upcoming articles on the city’s top yoga spots.
bathroom stall — it’s all part of a fantastic escalation.
The couple’s neighbor, Jamie (Damon Herriman), serves first as a warm, somewhat paternal welcome. He gives Millie advice for her relationship with Tim, urging her not to give up. He brings up Aristophanes’ concept of Eros— the idea that humans were once whole, with two heads, two pairs of arms and two pairs of legs, but are now doomed to wander the earth in search of their other half. Bringing in ancient Greek philosophy gives the film a more timeless and epic scope. Discussions like this, combined with foreshadowing language (and Chekhov’s gun in the form of an electric saw), really hammer home Tim and Millie’s gruesome fate and make strong contributions to the film’s comic underside.
“Together” certainly delivers on the horror that its premise promises. The unnatural, arching body contortions that are characteristic of demonic possession horror films feel fresh here, given the drive of supernatural attraction. And there is, of course, flesh stretching, melting and snapping together. This is body horror in its purest form. Tim and Millie are resistant, cutting their conjoined arms apart with the electric saw as a temporary fix. But resistance is futile, as demonstrated to the couple by two examples, which are also visual metaphors for two ways a relationship can go. Jamie is revealed to be a product of a willing fusion between two men
in the new-age cult. A couple that went missing while hiking by the cave are revealed to now be grotesquely fused together because they were resistant to the fusion process. The individual self must be relinquished to partake in “the ultimate intimacy in divine flesh,” as Jamie puts it.
Tim and Millie’s acceptance of their fate is the film’s most amusing and romantic scene — a swaying dance set to the Spice Girls’ “2 Become 1.” The product of their union is just an androgynous person, which ends the film on a playful, casual note. It’s jarring but works for a horror film that strives to be unorthodox.
The film’s exploration of monogamous relationships through body horror is so riveting because of the universal fears it plays on — disgust with the human form, the sexual and psychological anxieties that stem from committing one’s self to another, identity and the loss of it. “Together” validates these fears, but romanticizes them at the same time. The film holds our hand and tells us, with distended skin and screams, that love will always triumph, whether you want it to or not.
Summary: “Together” pushes the boundaries of horror with unsettling visuals, humor and a thought-provoking outlook on love and the human condition.
VIA PEXELS
Yoga is pictured.
Spring LaRose Assistant Arts Editor
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Allison Brie, Dave Franco and Michael Shanks are pictured at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
Does sex still sell?
Annika Pillai Executive Arts Editor
In 1980, 15-year-old Brooke Shields appeared in a series of print and television ads for Calvin Klein. In one particularly memorable commercial, she delivered the brand’s provocative line: “You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.” The ad sparked widespread outrage — largely because of Shields’ agewith numerous networks refusing to air it.
And yet, reflecting back on the ad in 2021, Shields told Vogue, “I feel like the controversy backfired. The campaign was extremely successful.” After all, sex sells.
Sex-focused marketing is nothing new. In 1994, the Wonderbra billboard featured Eva Herzigová in a push-up bra, captioned “Hello Boys,” and was blamed for distracting drivers and causing car accidents. Tom Ford’s 2007 fragrance ad showing a woman’s torso with a perfume bottle squeezed between her legs was so explicit that it was banned in several countries. Each of these campaigns generated outrage, but each also generated enormous attention. The formula was consistent: Sex drew complaints, complaints fueled visibility and visibility fueled sales. Marketers have long known that human psychology responds to sexualized imagery, making it one of the most reliable ways to grab attention, whether on billboards, television or now across social media.
But that was years ago — surely things have evolved since then, right?
Well, in May, Sydney Sweeney collaborated with Dr. Squatch
to create and sell a soap made with her bath water, called “Sydney’s Bathwater Bliss.” In the ad promoting the soap, she is submerged in a soapy bathwater and stares at the camera seductively: “Hello you dirty little boys,” she starts out. “Are you interested in my body … wash?” Despite the outrage surrounding the product, according to the company, the product sold out within seconds.
Sweeney’s partnership with American Eagle back in July seemingly followed the same script. In the campaign, Sweeney says “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue.” The campaign’s creative direction has sparked backlash from multiple angles. Some critics argue the ads flirt with promoting eugenics — a discredited ideology tied to white supremacy that claims society can be improved by eliminating ‘undesirable’ traits — at an especially trying time when President Donald Trump’s administration has pushed hard against diversity efforts in the federal government and has targeted immigrants.
Others see the controversy as yet another example of a culture fixated on sexualizing women. Many have also taken issue with the overtly sexual tone of the ads, particularly given that American Eagle has framed the campaign as a vehicle for raising awareness about domestic violence through a butterfly motif, a cause close to Sweeney’s heart. The company has pledged to donate 100% of revenue from the “The Sydney Jean” sales to Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit that provides mental health support.
And yet, despite the copious amounts of controversy, both ads generated revenue. Nearly a million people entered the Sydney’s Bathwater Bliss giveaway within five days, and just a month later, Unilever purchased the brand for a reported $1.5 billion. Following the announcement of her American Eagle collaboration, the company’s stock jumped 19% in premarket trading.
The persistence of this strategy is visible outside of pure advertising as well. Sabrina Carpenter’s recent rebrand demonstrates the same logic. Carpenter is not new to the music industry — the former Disney star released five albums between 2015 and 2022. But in 2024, her sixth album, “Short n’ Sweet,” catapulted her into superstardom, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and going platinum within months. The album leaned into a more adult persona, balancing catchy pop hooks with flirtatious lyrics, signaling a decisive break from her Disney-era image.
On her Short n’ Sweet tour, Carpenter acted out a new sex position every show while performing “Juno,” a song already explicit in its references. On an earlier tour, she improvised sexually charged outros to “Nonsense” at every stop, with the crowd waiting to hear how far she would push the innuendo. Her performances were elaborate and theatrical, blending choreographed routines, costume changes and audience interaction that amplified the playful sexuality she has made central to her brand.
Poppie Platt, a Telegraph critic, dismissed these performances as inappropriate given Carpenter’s large base of younger fans. But Carpenter herself
brushed off the outrage in a Rolling Stone cover story, noting the irony: “It’s always so funny to me when people complain. They’re like, ‘All she does is sing about this.’ But those are the songs that you’ve made popular. Clearly you love sex. You’re obsessed with it.”
She later added that her shows contain “so many more moments than the ‘Juno’ positions, but those are the ones you post every night and comment on. I can’t control that.”
Her follow-up, “Man’s Best Friend,” released on Friday, leaned into controversy before anyone even heard a note. The album cover shows Carpenter on her knees while a suited man grips a fistful of her hair. Glasgow Women’s Aid, an organization supporting survivors of domestic violence, condemned the cover as “regressive,” claiming it leaned on “tired tropes that reduce women to pets, props, and possessions and promote an element of violence and control.” Platt described the artwork as an “over-sexed, degrading new album cover” and called the marketing strategy “troubling,” likening it to the TikTok “trad-wife” trend that glamorizes female submission and traditional gender roles.
Some argued that perhaps the sexually charged artwork was a clever inversion, positioning Carpenter as the one in control of the gaze. But the music itself did not quite live up to that promise.
In a three-star review, The Times’ Victoria Segal described “Man’s Best Friend” as “negligee-thin, surprisingly vanilla.” She wrote that, after the uproar over the album artwork, it “would have been amazing” if the record “was in fact so
subversive that it crushed the male gaze for ever, somehow positioning Carpenter as an avenging angel, a cute pocket-sized gorgon turning men to stone. Unfortunately, nothing here justifies that cover image.” Carpenter herself couldn’t deny it: “The album is not for any pearl clutchers,” she told CBS News. “This is just fun — and that’s all it has to be.”
Despite the copious amounts of controversy, Carpenter’s music sells — far more than her Disney-era work ever did. “Short n’ Sweet” cemented her transition from teen idol to pop star, and “Man’s Best Friend,” no matter how polarizing, ensured she remained a household name.
In the end, both Sweeney and Carpenter are tapping into a decades-old formula that still works. From Shields in her Calvins, to Wonderbra billboards stopping traffic, sex has always had the power to shock, spark conversation and, ultimately, sell. Sweeney’s bathwater soap sold out entirely. American Eagle’s campaign boosted its value by $200 million. Carpenter’s risqué album art and choreography may draw think-pieces about regressive imagery, but they also helped push her to her first Billboard No. 1. Are the critiques suggesting this type of media perpetuates harmful stereotypes against women or uplifts white supremacy valid? There is an argument to be made here. However, such commentary only contributes to these campaigns’ visibility, proving that the strategy thrives in the digital age as well.
Until outrage stops translating into revenue, sex will keep selling. The only thing that has changed is the conversation.
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Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle campaign is pictured.
‘EvEn God Cannot HEar Us HErE’: WHat I
Rümeysa Öztürk
Editor’s note: This article was co-published and edited by Vanity Fair.
On a Tuesday in March, I had spent most of my day working on my dissertation proposal and started to feel exhausted and hungry. It was the holy month of Ramadan, and I was fasting. Once finished, I quickly got ready to attend an iftar dinner, throwing on my hoodie, sweatpants and a jersey headscarf — definitely not a day for being fancy. I was looking forward to taking a short walk and catching up with friends at the Interfaith Center, when I was suddenly surrounded and grabbed by a swarm of masked individuals who handcuffed me and shoved me into an unmarked car.
Suddenly, I was thrust into a nightmare. Thousands of questions crept up in the hours that passed. It felt like an eternity as my shackled body was jostled from one location to another. Who were these people? Had I been a good enough person if today was my final day? I was relieved to have finished filing my taxes, but I couldn’t shake the thought of a book I needed to return to the library. I regretted not calling my grandparents and friends that day. My mom had heard my scream on the phone when they were taking me. She didn’t know where I was, and I could only imagine how many times she tried to reach me from oceans away, or who my father had attempted to contact. As my body shook with fear, I found myself drowning in thoughts. I began my final prayers, communicating with God that I had tried my best every day.
I was shuttled from Somerville to another city in Massachusetts, then to New Hampshire and Vermont, followed by Georgia and Louisiana. I experienced countless changes in agents, cars, planes and handcuffs. In Vermont, I was required to take a DNA test for the first time. I hadn’t yet been permitted to contact my parents, friends or lawyer. I asked numerous questions, but I received few answers; those I did get were inconsistent with each other.
Throughout, I was disoriented, hungry and nauseous. In Georgia, after suffering a severe asthma attack without my primary inhaler and having a hard cry, I was feeling completely hopeless. In Louisiana, I found myself in a cramped, cage-like bus, waiting for hours. I watched as countless people arrived from a nearby plane, all shackled — hands, feet and waists. Some were taken inside a building, while others were loaded onto a bus, where I was left behind. I asked for water but was given none. I sat with others in uncomfortable seats, all of us feeling the weight of our situations, and me intensely feeling the strain on my body, which was about to collapse. I never could have imagined such an ordeal when I came to the United States in 2018 to pursue my graduate studies, learn and grow as a scholar and contribute to the
child development field. I earned my master’s degree in developmental psychology from Columbia University on a Fulbright scholarship. And now I am in the final stage of my doctoral studies at Tufts, focusing on how young people use social media to benefit others, like by helping their friends, showing kindness to peers and saying nice things to others.
In all of my studies, research and professional work, I am driven by positive child and adolescent development, specifically how positive media use among children and adolescents can nurture more kindness and compassion in the world. I am also a dedicated teacher who strives to listen to, support and care for young
bright, with hard, uncomfortable benches that added to the tension of the situation. Later in the night, we were finally given some dinner. My request for halal or vegetarian food was rejected.
Still, despite these awful circumstances, I clung to my belief in humanity. I took a moment to collect my thoughts. I then began engaging in conversations with the women around me. Over the 14 hours I spent in processing, I connected with many of them. Through a sometimes-challenging language barrier, we talked — about how we’d gotten there, where we’d been and what was going to happen to us. I discovered that another woman there also had asthma, as she carried
I CO-AUTHORED AN OP-ED IN THE DAILY SEEKING TO AFFIRM THE EQUAL DIGNITY AND HUMANITY OF ALL PEOPLE. ... WRITING IS THE HEART OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. UNBELIEVABLY, THIS SINGLE OPINION PIECE, PUBLISHED IN OUR STUDENT NEWSPAPER, WOULD LEAD TO MY ARREST AND DETENTION.
people, including undergraduate students at Tufts. And that’s why, together with other Tufts graduate students, I co-authored an op-ed in the Daily seeking to affirm the equal dignity and humanity of all people. The opinion article urged the university to listen to its undergraduate student body in the democratic resolutions passed by the Tufts Community Union Senate (three out of four), including acknowledging the Palestinian genocide. Writing is one of the most peaceful ways of communication that I am aware of. Writing is a form of listening, a process of thinking, and the foundation upon which academic work is built. Writing is the heart of freedom of expression. Unbelievably, this single opinion piece, published in our student newspaper, would lead to my arrest and detention.
It wasn’t until late afternoon on March 26 that we arrived at a “detention center,” roughly 24 hours since I had been grabbed off the street. While waiting to be processed alongside dozens of other women in a stark white cell, I felt utterly exhausted, lying on the hard floor from time to time. As someone who learned English later in life, the lines between prison and detention centers blurred in my mind. I had a lot of questions: Who are the people staying here? How many are there? What are the living conditions like? What kinds of offenses have brought them here? How long have they been here?
The cramped room was filled with women, some lying on the cold floor, others looking scared or simply sad, all in desperate need of food and water. The bathrooms were just curtained stalls. The room itself was frustratingly
cell. They greeted me with warmth and smiles, which only added to my confusion. The questions I initially had about who they were and why they were there continued to fade. I opened the plastic bag of “essentials” that the officers had given us, which contained two to three changes of clothes, flipflops, a small bottle of shampoo, a comb, one thin blanket and sheet, toothpaste, a cheap toothbrush and a handbook.
Always the student, I wanted to dive into the handbook, but it was written in Spanish. I asked a few of the other women if they had an English version; they did, and they were eager to help me understand everything. I read the handbook and instructions multiple times, but some parts were confusing. They walked me through the setup of the phone, which felt outdated and challenging to operate. They showed me how to use the old tablets in the room, explained how to set up my account, and guided me through the commissary process — the weekly food ordering system that often failed to deliver — along with a few other limited features. After that, utterly miserable and drained, I turned my attention to the blue metal bunk bed.
her inhaler. I learned that several women were separated from their children.
I soon learned the color coding used in the detention center. Orange indicated “low crime,” meaning those individuals were asylum seekers, their “crime” being the act of legally seeking asylum or crossing the border without authorization. Women kept asking me, “Did you cross the border?” I answered: “I hadn’t.” “I had a ticket.” “I had F-1 visa one day before.” “I am a doctoral student.” The red uniforms denoted more serious offenses. I came to understand that this facility serves as an immigration detention center where asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants — people escaping conflict, war, oppression and violence — are taken and find themselves stuck for months or years. I was given an orange uniform. I wondered which border I had crossed without my knowledge.
Cookies, conversation and confusion
Around 6 a.m. on March 27, having gone two nights without sleep and little food, I was finally processed in the for-profit Immigration Customs and Enforcement prison. My request for a space for my morning prayer was rejected by an intake officer. Instead, I was directed to the medical center for my first evaluation, which primarily consisted of me listing my health issues to the nurse and trying to remember the names of the medications I was taking. I spent hours waiting there under extremely loud TV sounds. Later, when I was directed to where I was to stay in the afternoon, I was bewildered to find 23 other women crowded into a small
My cellmates noticed how tired I looked and came over to help: “You can store your clothes under the bed,” they said. “And you can push it to create a small shelf for some of your belongings.”
We managed to do that together. I received a small black box for my clothes that contained pasta, oil and some bugs — not the best surprise. We started cleaning together. They taught me how to do laundry, to make sure the bag is tight so the clothes don’t get lost, which would cause a lot of difficulty to request more. One woman offered me cookies, while the other offered tea, and they both sat down to chat with me.
“This place is the worst,” they said, telling me about the times when they did not have access to female hygiene products or toilet paper, times when their questions were not answered, how they were constantly counted and lined up, how some officers raised their voices or — somehow even worse — did not even respond to them. How in the kitchen, they were forced to sit at another table without reason.
They shared how cold they were in the wintertime, with no extra blankets, jackets or proper shoes being provided. They shared stories of witnessing violence.
The next chapter of my experience in prison began at that moment. Over the next six and a half weeks, I found myself immersed daily in the love, beauty, resilience and compassion of these women. We each found ourselves trapped in our own individual nightmares, but we found comfort and relief in one another, and we shared our burden and pain by listening to each other.
Each conversation turned into a group therapy session where we would gather to open up about the grief we felt regarding the harsh realities and dehumanization occurring in a godforsaken, for-profit ICE prison in America, the place we had all come to pursue our dreams. During limited times outside in the yard, I walked with many women, listening to their stories. Among us was a singer with almost a million followers, a talented violinist, a Pilates instructor, a visual arts teacher, a devoted mom, a loving grandmother and a woman with a passion for arranging flowers. Someone’s best friend. Someone’s fiancée. Someone’s wife. Someone’s daughter. An aunt. A human rights activist. A human, like all of us, with a heart. And me, a very confused international doctoral student.
A series of unfortunate events On my very first night, when I was anxious about being without any books, one new friend shared a copy of Eleanor H. Porter’s “Pollyanna” with me — a story about an orphaned girl in the fictional town of Beldingsville, Vt., who finds gratitude in every situation, spreading joy to those around her. Later, another friend taught me the very bureaucratic way of getting approval for books sent from outside: “First, you ask permission from the major, then your friend needs to order from a retail company, then the major needs to approve again. It takes time. Choose softcover, longer books. Coloring books are not permitted. You cannot keep two books at the same time. After you finish, you must donate your book to the detention center and start the process again to be able to receive another book.” Their recommendations continued: “You can borrow only one book from the library.”
After many requests, I finally accessed what turned out to be the saddest and smallest library I have ever seen. I was surprised to find that the books were not categorized by author or Dewey number but size. I tried to find a book before my allotted time ended and picked a cooking book; the second time I got a novel. I began flipping through the pages in search of solace, as books have always been my safe haven. To my surprise, I discovered handwritten notes scattered throughout the book, dated and written by various detainees over time. These messages were filled with reminders of hope, strength and
In one small room, a world of possibilities unfolded: The cell transformed into a therapy space, a beauty salon, a hairstyling center, a Pilates studio, a medical center, a massage room, an interfaith temple and an art studio all at once — without any tools or resources. We tackled long-standing disputes that have plagued our nations for years, between Armenia and Turkey, Russia and Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. We bonded over our shared experiences, which spanned geographies from Colombia to Iran to Afghanistan to Honduras. These warm interactions extended to all other women I interacted with outside of my room in the ICE prison.
WItnEssEd InsIdE an ICE WomEn’s PrIson
the assurance that this, too, shall pass. Tears welled up in my eyes as I read their heartfelt expressions. It’s incredible how human beings can find ways to uplift each other, transcending time, space and borders if they want to and if they choose to. I continued to turn the pages, holding on to the hope of finding brighter moments in this terrifying situation — all thanks to the kindness of people I had never met.
Although I was comforted by the women around me, every day resembled a new chapter from Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” We stumbled upon frogs, crawfish, snakes and bugs in the yard and were ridiculed by some officers for being afraid. Some days, the officers played “Happy” by Pharell Williams loudly when we were walking, only increasing our desperation. The temperatures in Louisiana were scorching. After I arrived, we were not allowed to have any time outside for almost one week. Our yard time was limited. We constantly faced a choice between the fresh air and shielding ourselves from the sun, as there were only a few shaded spots available. In stark contrast, our room felt freezing. To find some relief, we heated plastic water bottles and used them as mini heaters.
Breathing inside the detention center was hard, both symbolically and physically. I’ve had asthma for several years, but I’ve never suffered from it like I did in detention. During my 45 days there, I was kept in damp, dusty, overcrowded conditions with poor air and triggers that made my asthma significantly worse. Once, when I suffered a severe asthma attack, the officers did not respond until many women began banging on the windows to get their attention. Afterward, I was not even allowed to take a few minutes of fresh air, being told that it was a risk to the officers’ safety.
When our requests for care went unanswered by the medical center, we leaned on each other for support. One time, my friend had a severe allergic reaction and her entire eye became red and itchy. Despite her numerous requests for permission to visit the medical center, she was never given the help we pleaded for. In a desperate attempt to assist her, I placed black tea bags on her eyelids to try and reduce the swelling. This kind of improvisation was common. Our requests would often go unanswered for weeks — and according to my friends who had been there longer than myself, sometimes even months. If they were fortunate enough to be called into the medical center, they would find themselves waiting for hours, only to be sent back for random reasons, including a lack of translators. The medication lines outside were so long under the afternoon hot weather of Louisiana, many women almost fainted.
From cancer to colds to women’s diseases, ibuprofen was the magical pill the medical staff offered. My friends had to wait
for emergency help for a long time, sometimes for days. Other women shared that they had given up on seeking help, deciding it was better to endure severe health consequences than to visit that center and be treated inhumanely. Some of the medical staff would raise their voices at us. They’d say things like, “You’re giving me a headache,” “Why are you always coming during my shift?” and “I’m not giving you anything.” When I asked questions, they responded that they couldn’t “babysit” me. Many women said that the medical staff did not believe they were sick. They shared how, upon arrival, they were in relatively good health, but their conditions deteriorated day by day due to inadequate access to medical care, nutritious food, sleep, sunlight and fresh air. Some experienced loss of menstruation, declining mental health and even hair loss due to overwhelming stress. We worried about our friends with wheelchairs, cancer, a deaf friend and friends with serious chronic illnesses such as diabetes.
During my time in the ICE prison, we rarely got a proper night’s rest. For the first time in my life, I realized that sleep — real sleep — is actually a luxury. The constant glare of fluorescent lighting made it almost impossible to doze off. Many officers marched through the area loudly, their chains and keys clattering, waking us at night with the booming sound of their walkie-talkies (except one officer, whom we frequently thanked for holding her key and chains so the sound would not disrupt us). Some officers woke all of us
Feeling invisible
In the early days of my detention, I had no access to the commissary and was growing hungry and desperate as staff did not honor my request for a meal that met my dietary restrictions for many hours. But my friends generously stepped in to feed me. Even after I was no longer starving, their kindness persisted: I understood that for many of my new friends who were fleeing war and conflict, the resources they share are essential for survival, not luxuries. I remember us sharing two cookies or a package of snacks among many women in the room. My friends offered essentials like toilet paper and shampoo and generously lent me their pens and a few sheets of paper since I had none of my own. Women there reported that they “voluntarily” worked four to five hours in the kitchen for $3 per day and in the laundry, commissary, intake and library for $1 per day.
The food in the dining hall was low-quality and unhealthy. As someone who loves cooking, I was shocked at how bland food could be. The meals mainly comprised an overwhelming amount of beans — so many beans, in fact, that they seemed to be the star of every meal. These were accompanied daily by some undercooked rice, highly processed bread and sometimes a rather unappetizing salad. On rare occasions, we’d get a tiny serving of canned fruit. Fresh fruit was so rare that I began counting the apples we received — I ended up with just six or seven throughout my entire stay. And with no fresh options available in the
accepted and considered enough? After how much more suffering?
The burden of being stuck indoors and cut off from our everyday lives was heavy for everyone. Missing out on our professions, artistic pursuits, and educational opportunities took a toll on our growth, career prospects, dreams and overall well-being. My artist friend was so uninspired that she barely wanted to draw — and even if she did, we did not have access to any art supplies (even coloring pencils). It took me so long to access paper that I sometimes did not want to write. Another friend was afraid that she would not be able to play her instrument again. My singing friend did not want to sing. Many of us could not hear the words and music inside of us. All of us were losing hope and parts of who we were, both as humans and professionals.
One time, an officer came and took away all the cookie boxes, claiming we would use them to make weapons. Another time, we were shocked to witness an officer physically push two women in the kitchen, echoing other stories of violence women shared. Officers threatened to take our shared privileges away — meaning three tablets and a TV — if we didn’t clean the room or if we left the bed during headcounts. Women shared their strategies for coping with verbal abuse from some of the officers and supervisors. I was told that crying frequently was a normal and regular response. Some officers would simply turn their backs when we knocked on the door, seeking help. “After a few weeks or months, you give up
DURING MY 45 DAYS THERE, I WAS KEPT IN DAMP, DUSTY, OVERCROWDED CONDITIONS WITH POOR AIR AND TRIGGERS THAT MADE MY ASTHMA SIGNIFICANTLY WORSE. ONCE, WHEN I SUFFERED A SEVERE ASTHMA ATTACK, THE OFFICERS DID NOT RESPOND UNTIL MANY WOMEN BEGAN BANGING ON THE WINDOWS TO GET THEIR ATTENTION. AFTERWARD, I WAS NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO TAKE A FEW MINUTES OF FRESH AIR, BEING TOLD THAT IT WAS A RISK TO THE OFFICERS’ SAFETY.
up at odd hours — as early as 3:30 a.m. — when they were only calling one person for work, or to check someone’s blood sugar or blood pressure. All we wanted was uninterrupted, peaceful sleep. Many of us were constantly on the verge of panic attacks and anxiety and had racing hearts. Yet many officers did not care about our sleep. I remember seeing women cocooned in blankets, resembling lifeless figures as they finally managed to catch some rest in the late afternoon. Young, beautiful women seeking refuge in sleep, just to cope with their harsh realities, dreaming of freedom, loved ones and moments of safety. On some days, I, too, fell into this sleep routine, feeling like a mere shadow of myself and hoping that this was only a nightmare that would be over when I woke up.
commissary, we had to rely on instant oatmeal and noodles just to feel full. All these dining experiences left us grappling with digestion issues and persistent stomachaches. We were constantly worried about the pregnant women among us, knowing they needed more nutrition.
Going to the dining hall involved passing through a series of doors, many of which were locked, leaving us standing in line for an extended period under the sun. I couldn’t help but ponder how many more doors would be shut in my face and the faces of these women while in ICE prison and throughout the rest of our lives. How many magical keys do we need to unlock the doors that close off opportunity simply because of who we are and how we look? When will we finally feel
conversations between women and officers appeared to be quite rare.
All we wanted was to be seen as human again. We felt invisible, stripped of our identity as breathing and living human beings. One morning, we were head-counted seven times in the span of a few hours and woken up from our sleep to be lined up. Another time, we were forced to wait for nearly three hours in bed to be counted. During head counts, we communicated with our eyes, rejecting the dehumanization and silently agreeing that this was brutal. We longed to be recognized as more than just numbers, no longer reduced to figures in orange uniforms. We deeply missed staying updated with the news, which only came to us heavily censored. We missed the ability to pray without interruption. We missed enjoying the sun, wearing our own clothes and having the freedom to walk and talk as much as we wanted. Still, the women formed a bond over tears and solidarity. We were there for each other, providing shoulders to cry on, prayers to cling to and hugs filled with compassion.
“Please write about us”
An Armenian woman I considered an aunt asked me every time I saw her, “Rümeysa, please write about us. Please let the world hear our story.” I am keeping my promise, Auntie. She spoke of the painful separations of mothers from their children and families. “I have three kids, and it’s tough to get by each day.” Many women wept day and night, longing for their families. My friends showed me letters from their young children, accompanied by sweet photos of them and mischievous pictures of their pets. Some of the children are in their home countries; some are waiting in different states with other caregivers; and others have been taken into the foster care system. I learned that women have even been separated from their babies after giving birth. I learned about miscarriages with heartbreak.
asking,’' I was told. I tried many times, and many times I gave up too. We felt horrified, invisible, helpless, and dehumanized.
I asked some of the officers if they liked their jobs. Many of them told me that they treat everyone fairly or they proudly carry everyone from point A to point B. Some mentioned they do not agree with everything going on, but they have to do what they are told. Some officers wore sunglasses and avoided ever making eye contact with us, reminding me of the Stanford Prison Experiment; the sunglasses made it difficult to read their emotions, giving the guardians more authority and increasing the pressure on prisoners. Could it be possible that maybe the officers did not know and were unaware of our experiences? After all,
The great author James Baldwin once wrote: “The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe.” Their mothers are ours as well. When her child is hurt, a mother’s heart breaks just the same, no matter where she comes from. This includes mourning mothers inside the detention center, some escaping war and conflict, separated from their children. This includes mothers in many geographical areas affected by war and conflict. According to UNICEF, there are 50,000 Palestinian children in Gaza who were killed or injured over the last two years, 6.5 million displaced children in Sudan over the last two years and 537,000 children in Yemen suffering from severe acute malnutrition as of March 2025. Their mothers are suffering along with many other mothers in wartorn countries worldwide, including asylum seekers. My heart aches with all of these mothers grieving every single night. ...
Read the rest online at tuftsdaily.com.
In Photos: Unsung heroes of first-year orientation
PHOTOS BY DYLAN FEE
Late Night At The Daily Aisha: “Didn’t he cheat on his wife?” Gretta: “He cheated on her with football.”
Dylan Fee Editor in Chief
Letter from the Editor in Chief: A Jumbo welcome to the Hill
Dear Tufts Community,
Welcome back, Jumbos! And to the newly-matriculated Class of 2029: Welcome to Tufts! My name is Dylan Fee, and I am excited to introduce myself as the new editor in chief of The Tufts Daily. I would like to take a moment to acquaint you with the Daily and our incredible team.
But, before I talk about the Daily and why it’s the best student publication ever, I wanted to give you some advice. I came into college with no idea what I wanted to do with my life, and that’s a good thing! I’ve wanted to be a veterinarian, teacher, lawyer, paramedic, mathematician, professor and countless other professions, each of which only stuck for about a week.
Then, during my sophomore year, a close friend introduced me to the Daily. Flash forward two years: Now I want to be a journalist — a job that was never even on my periphery.
I’m not saying that joining one club will determine your entire future; it took me a lot of trial and error to discover my passion. I will say, however, that college is the time to try new things, even if you’re scared. I don’t know what my future would hold if I had never joined the Daily, but I’m glad I don’t have to find out.
Sadie Roraback-Meagher Deputy Opinion Editor
Once I submitted my last final and the freedom of summer washed over me, I made a radical decision: I would not spend a single second of break doomscrolling. Pulling out my deteriorating phone, I gleefully deleted all my social media apps, committing myself to saving my attention span and being morally superior to my peers. But it only took one 40-minute layover on my flight home for me to supplement my need to scroll with another vice: obsessively checking the news.
The Daily, founded in 1980, is the only financially independent student newspaper of record at Tufts, which means we make all editorial decisions, from interview to print, under no influence but our own. While offering an ongoing logistical challenge — student organizations, if you want an advertisement in the Daily, please do reach out — by remaining independent, we ensure the continued strength and integrity of our voice and the voices we represent.
I’m sure when you think of joining a newspaper, the first thing that comes to mind is writing. However, we have over 20 sections spanning across editorial, multimedia, production and business — so there’s something for everyone!
We publish content online every weekday, and our print paper can be found on newsstands around campus and in the Medford/ Somerville community every Thursday. After this publication, we will have five special editions: Local Communities, Parents and Families, our satirical Halloween paper, Elections and, to end out the semester, we will have our third issue of The Tufts Daily Magazine!
In the spring 2025 semester, the Daily published over 600 articles across our News, Features, Arts, Sports, Opinion and Science sections. We had over 25 columns, including our first-ever Spanish publication, Perú Publicado, and we published our 56-page
Commencement issue that included written content, beautiful photos and graphics, and was accompanied by uplifting senior profile videos — all work that we are incredibly proud of.
The Daily also faced unprecedented circumstances for our organization. Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk was tragically detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and spent 45 days in ICE detention. The revocation of her F-1 student visa that led to her detainment and detention was directly correlated to an op-ed she co-authored for the Daily in spring 2024.
Our news team worked around the clock to cover the status of Öztürk and her case, the university’s response as well as subsequent student and local activism, while our opinion leadership team and managing board worked tirelessly to protect the safety of our international student contributors. So many staff members stepped up and took on extra responsibilities to keep our paper running, and I’m so thankful for and proud of the Daily team for what has been accomplished.
Over the summer, Öztürk bravely submitted another op-ed — that we co-published with Vanity Fair — on her experience in ICE detention. An abridged version is featured in this edition — I strongly urge you to read it. Freedom of speech is one of the most fundamental, if not the most fundamental, aspects
of being a free nation. As long as the Daily is publishing, we will do everything we can to give voice to the voiceless and protect our writers to the fullest extent possible.
If you’d like your voice to be heard by the Tufts community or want to let us know how we can improve our coverage, you can submit an op-ed or a letter to the editor to opinion@tuftsdaily.com. You can find our updated guest opinion guidelines on our website.
Just like everything else in college, the Daily is a learning experience for our staff. While our goal is to provide accurate and objective coverage for everyone in our community, mistakes sometimes happen. However, we are always trying to better ourselves, and a great way
Can my ignorance be blissful?
When I initially detoxified my phone, I only kept the apps I couldn’t live without, namely iMessage and Shazam, for when I’m in a car with people and too nervous to ask what song is playing. This also included The New York Times and The Washington Post to make sure I knew if a meteor was hurling towards earth or that Jason Momoa prefers to be called a ‘sensitive alpha male.’
Yet, soon I found myself constantly checking the news the way I once did with social media. Only now, instead of falling asleep to Sydney Sweeney discourse, I
would lie awake thinking about the destruction of our democracy.
It was only a matter of time before headlines of worsening climate catastrophes blurred together, photos of war zones morphed into one and I soon lost track of which governmental agencies had been cut. Still, I saw no problems with my endless consumption of the news. Sure, I woke up feeling an impending sense of doom every morning, but wasn’t this my moral obligation as a citizen of the world? As former President Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.” While Americans watched the sitting president attack his political rivals, deploy the national guard in U.S. cities and unjustly deport immigrants, Jefferson’s words felt more relevant than ever before.
But instead of feeling invigorated to take action — with a picket sign in one hand and my other dialing the phone number of my local representative — I felt hopeless. When there’s an avalanche of catastrophe, doing something begins to feel
pointless. Sure, I could go protest, but wouldn’t I just come back home to the next depressing headline?
Maybe I’m a pessimist who’s destined to wallow while listening to NPR for the next four years, laughing only when Gov. Gavin Newsom tweets.
Or maybe, I’m simply not meant to spend all my waking hours reading the news.
It’s only a relatively recent phenomenon that humans are able to endlessly consume the news like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Prior to the internet, news was circulated through the morning paper, the radio or TV — sources that all inherently had some degree of limitation on the quantity of content or on the rate at which you could engage with it. The ability to refresh a website or listen to an endless array of political podcasts wasn’t an option, restricting the amount of news one was able to read.
Call me a Luddite, but I believe there’s some benefit to how we once stayed informed. With the seemingly never-ending stream
to help us do that is through reader feedback. Feel free to reach out to me at dylan@tuftsdaily.com with any concerns you may have, submit a letter to the editor or send us an anonymous tip.
If you’d like to report on breaking issues, share your opinion, take a picture worth a thousand words, make others’ work look and sound more beautiful or just join a great community of people, consider joining the Daily. You can find information on how to join in the calendar on our page 5. If not, you can read our content online or in print. We are, after all, where you read it first.
Pax et Lux, Dylan Fee Editor in Chief, Fall 2025
of information we’re exposed to, ‘news fatigue’ has increasingly become a problem. By contrast, the restrictions of traditional media formats made it more difficult to become overwhelmed by the news. Studies have found that excessive exposure to the news can lead to chronic stress, and therapists agree that news consumption can negatively impact one’s mental health. For those of us who have grown used to watching the world burn from our laptop, taking a step back from our steady news regiment is perhaps for the best.
However, I’m not advocating for going off the grid and just hoping someone sends you an email if there’s a new pandemic or if one of the actors from “Friends” died. Like Jefferson, I believe that being cognizant of the present attacks against democracy is essential for this country’s survival. But finding a healthy balance — somewhere between being entirely disconnected and a hypervigilant doomsday prepper — is necessary to ride out the storm.
The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year and distributed free of charge to the Tufts community. The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board.
EDITORIALS: Editorials represent the position of The Tufts Daily Editorial Board. Individual editorialists are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Editorial Board. Editorials are submitted for review to The Tufts Daily Executive Board before publication.
VIEWPOINTS AND COLUMNS: Viewpoints and columns represent the opinions of individual Opinion editors, staff writers, contributing writers and columnists for the Daily’s Opinion section. Positions published in Viewpoints and columns are the opinions of the writers who penned them alone, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. All material is subject to editorial discretion.
OP-EDS: Op-Eds provide an open forum for campus editorial commentary and are published Monday through Friday. The Daily welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community; the opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 600 to 1,200 words in length and submitted to opinion@tuftsdaily.com. The editors reserve the
appear in the Daily. Authors must submit their telephone
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COURTESY DYLAN FEE
Dylan Fee is pictured.
VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
A person scrolling through articles on their smartphone is pictured.
Liam Chalfonte Senior Staff Writer
There’s a special kind of anxiety I feel sitting in a room full of students, suspended in the silence between a professor’s question and the first raised hand. As I’ve spent the past week preparing to teach a class as part of Tufts’ Explorations program — a part of our Experimental College in which upper-level students instruct incoming firstyears about a topic of their choice and help them adjust to college — I’ve been thinking, and worrying, about that dreaded silence. Why, in so many classrooms full of skilled learners, is this such a familiar phenomenon?
If you’ve turned on the news at any point in the past decade, you’ve probably seen a rather insidious suggestion: political censorship. The phantom of cancellation, some claim, looms over the heads of well-meaning students, forcing them to bite their tongue on any speech that doesn’t fit their professor’s agenda. Particularly, this is a critique lobbied by conservative circles, who (admittedly correctly) point out that colleges tend to be left-leaning spaces.
However, the reality isn’t so simple. Data shows that the gap in self-censorship between liberal and conservative students is not
Exercise your freedom to say the wrong thing
as wide as it can often be made out to be, being only around 6% higher for conservative students. This is hardly a surprise in a day and age where a fellow Tufts student can be kidnapped solely for voicing a left-leaning opinion. And while these political fears are legitimate, they might merely be a scapegoat for a more deeply entrenched, self-censorship-causing fear: social anxiety.
Social anxiety can often be found lurking in the background of self-censorship issues. Of the 55% of Americans who said they censored themselves in a 2022 survey from The New York Times, 57% said they were worried about retaliation. However,
even more people had social concerns; 65% were afraid of being harshly criticized, and a whopping 94% were trying to avoid conflict. These social anxieties thrive in the classroom, where self-censorship stretches beyond a student’s personal beliefs to their interpretations of books or solutions to math problems. Many students fear being judged by other students for a wrong answer, thinking it will reflect poorly on their level of intelligence. This isn’t a new issue, either; it’s a seed planted in our early years, watered by the hellscape of pandemic-era Zoom classes and blooming in a competitive academic environment.
As I approach teaching my students, I’ve been asking myself the question: What’s so wrong with being wrong? That feeling of shame or embarrassment that comes with a wrong answer is teaching us a lesson that shouldn’t go anywhere near our classrooms — that if we don’t feel 100% confident in our answers, we shouldn’t speak up. But while we may save ourselves a moment of unpleasant emotions, we’re in reality depriving ourselves, and our peers, from a crucial opportunity for learning.
Studies show that making mistakes in the classroom is an extremely effective learning
technique, which makes sense: Why would we even be sitting in a classroom if we already fully understood what’s being taught? Unfortunately, shutting down instead of speaking up is a difficult instinct to train out of people. Our brains will oftentimes nearly shut down their centers of reasoning as a reaction to the fear of being wrong.
What we need instead are classrooms of students and teachers who are ready to accept and encourage mistakes. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help a person find their way to a correct answer, or educate someone if they say something unintentionally (or even intentionally) offensive. It means that we need to resist our urges to immediately correct and attack, and instead focus on the more nuanced process of educating. The most crucial first step to this process of education is creating an environment where making mistakes is normalized.
Now that I’m standing on the other side of the classroom, my biggest wish — my challenge to my students, to all students — is this: Speak up. Be proudly wrong, or proudly misguided or even proudly and unexpectedly correct. By doing this, we can take the first steps toward a new culture of being wrong and learning from our mistakes.
Pop Princess 101: Sabrina Carpenter’s new album isn’t the feminist serve you think it is
The media that individuals consume dictates their views on society. The average individual sees more than 5,000 advertisements per day, each of which has the power to shape their beliefs, attitudes and expectations. Hence, it’s imperative that popular media uplifts marginalized groups, rather than confining them to stereotypes that can normalize sexism, racism or homophobia. Gender stereotypes have persisted in popular media, from sexist portrayals of women in 20th century advertisements to their depictions in movies and music today. Although the representation of empowered women has increased, gender-restrictive stereotypes and the objectification of women are still prominent in popular media today.
In the mid-to late 20th century, the media was inundated with sexist and restrictive representations of women such as smiling wives making ‘husband-pleasing coffee,’ or even a woman depicted as a literal carpet being stomped on by a faceless man. Unfortunately, these motifs are still being echoed in today’s media. Despite its release over 50 years after these ads, the cover of Sabrina Carpenter’s sixth studio album, “Man’s Best Friend,” is eerily reminiscent of these dehumanizing depictions of women.
Announced in early June, the new album’s cover sparked immense controversy as fans and haters alike evaluated the significance of Carpenter’s chosen cover art. The cover depicts Carpenter kneeling below a suit-clad figure, who is tugging on her hair. In conjunction with the album title — a nod to the age-old adage that “a dog is a man’s best friend” — the album’s cover draws an unfortunate connection between women and pets. The blatant dehumanization of women is beyond tone deaf in the current sociopolitical climate, where lawmakers are actively attempting to strip women of their rights. The current administration’s attack on gender equality renders uplifting depictions of women in the media more important than ever to ensure that sexist rhetoric and restrictive gender roles do not continue to permeate the fabric of our society.
Carpenter is known for her cheeky and harmless sexual innuendos, from freestyled suggestive outros to recurring sexual poses accompanying her song “Juno” on stage. Carpenter unabashedly developed her brand around both her femininity and sexuality without having an audience dominated by men, something many women around the world find empowering.
However, the cover of “Man’s Best Friend” crossed the fine line between cheeky humor
and a tone-deaf belittlement of women. Carpenter’s sexual brand provides a basis with which to examine the cover. However, coupled with the album’s title, it cannot be defended as either sexual empowerment or satire. Online, defenders of the album claim it’s a ‘nonissue’ and argue that critics are incorrect because women still have their rights. Carpenter herself even released alternative cover art, captioning it on X as “a new alternative cover approved by God.”
However, Carpenter and her defenders fail to understand that criticism of the album cover is not rooted in the rise of purity culture or a dislike for female sexual empowerment in the media. Furthermore, they evaluate the album on face value, rather than examining it within its sociopolitical context. Those who critique it are focused on the significance of belittling depictions of women in conjunction with the surge in misogyny after the 2024 election. Cynthia Miller-Idriss, a professor at American University and director of the school’s Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab, notes that depicting women as inferior sparks a willingness to engage in political violence. The normalization of women as subservient in the media can drive abuse and hate directed towards women.
new album might have been an attempt to reclaim derogatory depictions of women. However, there’s nothing ‘empowering’ about drawing parallels between women and dogs or depicting women as being subservient to men. Sexuality is empowering, but “Man’s Best Friend” is a poorly executed attempt to further her brand and image without acknowledging the lasting impacts of depictions of women in the media.
Carpenter’s
Olivia Zambrano Deputy Opinion Editor
KATRINA AQUILINO / THE TUFTS DAILY
A classroom in Eaton Hall is pictured on Feb. 11, 2022.
VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Sabrina Carpenter is pictured at the O2 Arena in March.
A crash course in science at Tufts
Shoshana Daly Executive Science Editor
People will always tell you to “network” and “get involved in research,” but it isn’t always clear what that actually looks like. As a senior biochemistry major at Tufts, I’ve figured out some effective ways to do both, so here are my four tips for first-years pursuing a STEM major or minor.
Go to departmental seminars!
Many departments at Tufts host weekly seminars that are open to undergraduate students! These presentations are generally a mix of Tufts researchers and guest speakers from other universities. They help you learn about research happening in a given department and provide a great opportunity to meet graduate students and professors. Below is a short list of some departmental seminars (but it is by no means exhaustive). You can usually find more information by going to a
department’s website under the ‘News & Events’ tab, navigating to a choice that says ‘Seminar Series’ or some variation of that.
Biology: Fridays at 3 p.m., Robinson 253
Biomedical Engineering: Mondays at 10:45 a.m., SciTech, Room 136
Chemistry: Wednesdays at 12 p.m., Pearson 106
Environmental Studies (HoCu): Thursdays at 12 p.m., Curtis Hall Multipurpose Room Math: Mondays at 12 p.m., JCC 501
Show interest!
If you reach out to a professor about working with them, follow up! If you cold email and get no response, follow up — professors get A LOT of emails. If you email and the professor seems interested, follow up by thanking them and asking about next steps. Being proactive is key. Mentoring is a lot of work, so professors are selective about taking on new students and
investing time and resources in their training. You need to show that you are committed and excited about the work.
Get on department email lists!
Many departments hold information sessions or open houses during the semester, and there is almost always information about how to join email lists at those events. Getting on lists ensures that you stay in the know about opportunities and events.
Say YES to opportunities!
There are so many times in college, especially in your first years, when professors will mention opportunities like talks, discussions or student poster presentations during class. If something looks interesting, go for it! I know it can be intimidating, but more often than not, people are thrilled to share their research. Professors have spent many years — often decades — studying a topic they are passionate about. If you show
interest, oftentimes they are more than happy to talk about their work with you.
I know that the start of the semester is always chaotic, but don’t be intimidated. These tips are a starting point to help get
you going. My final piece of advice — and this one applies to everyone — is to ask for help. There are students, departments and staff who want to support you, and there is no harm in asking questions. Good luck!
A ‘department reborn’: eCS launches new majors, relocates to Bacon Hall
Maya Godard Staff Writer
During the fall 2024 semester, Tufts’ Department of Earth and Climate Sciences announced two new majors, earth science and climate science, and a minor in earth and climate sciences. This semester, the department is making the academic transition and moving into new lab spaces in Bacon Hall.
Beginning in the fall 2025 semester, the department’s former majors — environmental geology and geological sciences — will be consolidated into earth science. Current students may complete their existing degree or transition to earth science, while future classes will enroll under the new program only.
While earth science is an updated major, Professor Andrew Kemp
said it “maintains a very strong fundamental geology curriculum.” Kemp, who has taught in the department for 12 years, said restructuring plans started when three senior faculty neared retirement and colleagues weighed the department’s future.
“What we landed on was we would keep that geology core … but we would expand it to include a new degree in climate science,” Kemp said. In addition to meeting the interests of the Tufts student demographic, “[climate science] was a topic that was increasingly relevant academically and increasingly relevant in the wider world.”
While the earth science major focuses on geology and Earth processes, the climate science major takes a more atmospheric approach to studying the environment. For students interested in
both fields, the department will also offer a combined minor in earth and climate sciences.
As Kemp explained, climate science, though still an emerging field in academia, is becoming increasingly vital amid today’s global challenges. He called it a “discovery major,” noting that few students are exposed to climate-focused courses in high school and many come to appreciate the subject after arriving at university.
Professors Rebecca Jackson and Jonah Bloch-Johnson, two more recent department hires, highlighted their appreciation for the interdisciplinary nature of climate science.
“We’re studying not only the connections within the earth and climate system, but it’s a lot of connections with other science branches,” Jackson said. “We have
students who double-major in earth science and chemistry, or climate science and computer science. … There’s a lot of exciting crossover for students to develop those interdisciplinary interests.”
“We’re providing the backbone that can help people to then go and make sense of these issues that are so important in their lives,” BlochJohnson said. “The atmosphere is the setting in which we all live our lives, and just understanding the physics behind that can … change the way you think about the world, and will change how you think about all your other courses.”
Kemp added that the department is working to create pathways through which students could fulfill their distribution requirements within a climate-focused theme, finding interdisciplinary connections between climate science and other fields.
Amid discussions of academic restructuring, it became clear that the department’s existing facilities in Lane Hall could not accommodate the program’s growth. Thus came a move to the newly opened Bacon Hall — a relocation that included the transport of an estimated 50,000 pounds of geological specimens.
“There were over 1,500 drawers … full of rocks … everything from pebbles and piles of sand to really large pieces,” said Kim Dustin, a relocation manager from STV who oversaw the project. “Relocations are often moving like offices or furniture, boxes. … This was much more interesting and challenging from a planning perspective.”
The specialized nature of the materials made the process especially complex. With guidance from Professor Emeritus Jack Ridge, the team developed a
coding system to keep construction crews and movers aligned with the department’s wishes.
Bacon Hall is officially open, housing new lab spaces for the earth and climate sciences and biology departments, and showcasing specimens like the over 7-ton “Bert’s Rock” and a slab marked with dinosaur footprints.
Additionally, the department’s offices were consolidated into Bromfield-Pearson Hall, which is shared with the environmental studies and urban and environmental planning departments. The move will establish a dedicated space for the department’s growing faculty and students to connect, teach and conduct research.
“It’s great that we’re going to have a home, because I think we are kind of a department reborn,” Bloch-Johnson said. “It’s going to be great having a center and a home where people can come and know that they can find us.”
From a first-year seminar that includes a field trip to Acadia National Park to “Lane Lunches” with free food and informal faculty-student gatherings, the department is always looking for ways to spark interest in earth and climate studies. With the addition of new facilities, they hope to expand opportunities for research and experiential learning for both new and returning students.
“We’re a small department, so there’s a lot of hands-on research opportunities, both in the lab and in the field, but also numerical or computational projects as well,” Jackson said. “We have a wide range of approaches in our research programs that provide a lot of different avenues for undergrads to get involved.”
GRAPHIC BY SHEA TOMAC
SHANNON MURPHY / THE TUFTS DAILY
Newly renovated Bacon Hall, home to the Tufts Department of Earth and Climate Sciences, is pictured on Sunday.
The 90-Minute Breakdown
3 nations, 1 tournament, countless problems
Antonia Toro
With 5 billion viewers tuning in for the 2022 tournament, the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup is poised to break every possible record. Held every four years with limited qualification spots, the World Cup represents the pinnacle of soccer. Stars represent their countries in pursuit of the most important trophy of their careers.
But this World Cup is already different. For the first time, three countries will co-host: Canada, Mexico and the United States. While this promises an unprecedented spectacle, each nation faces unique challenges that could impact the tournament’s success.
As a Mexican myself, having spent my whole life in Mexico City, I can easily identify the challenges my country faces. The most pressing issue is organizational infrastructure; Mexico City’s transportation system, with its complex and winding routes, isn’t always reliable. For tourists who don’t speak Spanish, ride-sharing apps like Uber will likely be their lifeline.
Even more concerning is the iconic Azteca Stadium, where the opening ceremony is scheduled to take place. The venue remains under renovation, with some doubting that it will be completed on time. Organization and structure will be key for Mexico to thrive in this World Cup.
However, Mexico has two major advantages: experience and culture. The country has already hosted two memorable World Cups and Mexico’s vibrant soccer culture, combined with the warmth of its people, will undoubtedly create an unforgettable atmosphere.
The United States faces perhaps the most complex challenges, starting with political instability that directly impacts international visitors. Just this past June, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents threatened to appear at a Mexican national team friendly in Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium to search for undocumented immigrants. In a similar fashion, ICE was denied entry to a Dodgers game a few weeks
later. If stadiums aren’t safe spaces, how can we expect the World Cup to reach its full potential in the United States?
The numbers are telling: The United States has travel bans for 12 countries, restrictions for seven more and is considering banning travelers from another 36 nations. American tourism has dropped 22%, with a projected $12.5 billion loss in visitor spending for 2025. This closed foreign policy approach, notably from President Donald Trump’s first few months in office, continues to make the United States seem unwelcoming to many nationalities, exactly the opposite of what a World Cup should represent. FIFA’s apparent favoritism toward the United States allowing the Final Draw at the Kennedy Center has sparked controversy as well.
Meanwhile, practical concerns persist. During last summer’s Copa America, players and coaches universally complained about field conditions: grass cut too short, holes and dirt patches throughout the pitches. This stems from using American football stadiums with synthetic turf, rather than the natural grass fields the World Cup requires.
Canada presents the most intriguing case. The country is co-hosting one of the world’s biggest sporting events alongside a nation whose president has threatened annexation and instigated trade wars. Canadians have already reduced travel to the United States and boycotted American products, raising questions about cross border cooperation during the tournament.
Unlike Mexico and the United States, Canada lacks a historically deep soccer culture, which could mean less atmospheric stadiums. I, however, don’t think this will be the case. Canadians’ enthusiasm for major sporting events, combined with the novelty of hosting a World Cup, could create its own unique energy.
Despite these challenges, the 2026 World Cup will likely be spectacular. Mexico brings passion and experience, the United States offers world class facilities and media coverage and Canada provides fresh enthusiasm and surprise.
The real question isn’t whether these three nations can overcome their individual challenges — it’s whether they can work together to create something greater than the sum of their parts. For soccer fans worldwide and for the beautiful game itself, let’s hope they can.
Daniil Medvedev
Brian Becker
Sports are defined by moments. Moments captivate us, anger us and most importantly, entertain us. With the rise in shortform content, such moments are only increasingly consumed by the masses all over social media. Moments in sports are critical to defining our fandoms, and our opinions formed from them define our views of the players. Pivotal moments such as Kawhi Leonard’s Game 7 buzzer beater or Antonio Brown’s walk off the field shape viewers’ opinions on the players, regardless of what side you’re on. They may generate adoration, but more often than not, they lead to outrage.
Outrageous moments like these create a cycle of passionate hate. Fans see a clip that sparks outrage, and then each preceding moment by a player only generates further negative reaction. In this column series, aptly titled “Love To Hate,” I will detail moments in a player’s career that lead to them being widely regarded as a ‘hated’ player within their respective sport. With the U.S. Open in session as our semester begins, it is only fitting that we cover the Association of Tennis Professionals, the world’s professional tennis organization.
While tennis is regarded as a sport that prides itself on respect for the individual players, the ATP has its fair share of controversy. After inciting the crowd and causing a play stoppage on a match point of nearly seven minutes, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev is definitely on tennis fans’ bingo card for most controversial. His rage-filled and hot-tempered character, ready to burst into outrage, is a refreshing change to a sport that is generally devoid of any player interaction, sans the post-match smiles and handshakes.
Medvedev has a track record of controversial moments. In 2017, in a time without electronic umpires, he threw coins at an umpire after a loss against Belgium’s Ruben Bemelmans in five sets. This year, he was fined $76,000 for treating the Australian Open like a rage cage, smashing cameras and rackets in the first two rounds.
His biggest outburst of childish behavior came on Aug. 24 after the chair umpire awarded his opponent, France’s Benjamin Bonzi, a first serve
when a let was called because of a cameraman interfering on the court. The umpire’s decision was not controversial in any form — players are awarded first serve when a let is called, but Medvedev turned the match point into a tennis version of a baseball team manager storming out of the dugout after a bad ring-up. He looked into the TV camera, saying about the umpire, “He gets paid by the match, not by the hour.”
From camera views, his wife appeared visibly upset, and tennis fans were too, but his anger spurred a flurry of reactions from the most dedicated fans of tennis to the casual social media viewer. I will attempt to quantify how ‘hated’ Medvedev truly is compared to other players by providing a ‘hate index,’ an analysis of audience sentiment sourced from comment-based news sites, including X and Reddit.
‘Hate Index’ Ranking
Using standard big data techniques and analysing sentiment through the 100 most negative posts on both platforms, I wrote a program to determine an average negativity rating, with this scale: 0.0-0.1 as neutral, 0.1-0.2 as slightly negative, 0.2-0.3 as moderately negative, 0.3-0.4 as very negative and 0.4+ as extremely negative. Medvedev earns an average negativity rating of 0.26. While some fans are certainly quick to complain about the Russian’s ill behavior, data suggests audience views are relatively mild.
Medvedev’s character certainly propels along some of these controversial moments on tour, but his increasing prevalence of ‘hateable’ moments is likely due to a recent slew of poor performances, especially in major tournaments and grand slams. The ATP certainly discourages players from behaving poorly, with significant fines expected to come Medvedev’s way after his underperforming first-round exit, but they do not ban errant behavior, leaving room for characters like Medvedev, whether you like it or not. In a post-match interview, when asked about his actions toward the chair umpire during the match, he summarized his actions using a quote by the great Portuguese football manager and ex-player Jose Mourinho: “If I speak, I’m in big trouble, so I’m not going to speak.”
Antonia Toro is a sophomore who has yet to declare a major. Antonia can be reached at antonia.toro@tufts.edu.
Brian Becker is a junior majoring in computer engineering. Brian can be reached at brian.becker@tufts.edu.
SPOrTS
Women’s soccer ready to take on 2025 season
Eliza Warren Executive Science Editor
On Saturday, Tufts women’s soccer will take on Williams College in their first game of the 2025 season at 12:30 p.m. on Bello Field. Along with it being their season premiere, they will also be facing the pressure of playing their first conference game against the talented Ephs.
The Jumbos, who have been in preseason for over a week, have focused their efforts on bettering the team in preparation.
“The pre-season has been very successful so far. We’ve been able to work on many aspects of our game, starting with the strategies of how we approach certain situations in game, but also focusing time and energy on our team culture,” senior forward Elsi Aires wrote in an email to the Daily.
During their 2024 season, the Jumbos had a strong season performance with a 14–4–1 record and a 7–2–1 conference record. They went 8–0 at home games during the season. Although their season got cut short with an elimination in the semifinals of the NESCAC tournament against Amherst College and in the second round of the NCAA tournament against William Smith College, the players remember the season fondly.
“We were very successful in our 2024 season. Even though we didn’t make it as far as we would’ve liked in the national tournament, it was still a season to remember,” Aires wrote.
After the tournament losses of the 2024 season, the Jumbos were faced with the challenge of losing a talented class of seniors. “Losing seniors from the previous year is always difficult. We lost mentors that I’ve been inspired by and looked up to for many years,” Aires wrote.
The Jumbos, however, feel able to overcome the challenge. “I think this year my [senior] class will do a fantastic job of filling in the gaps as leaders and help lead our team to success,” Aires wrote.
Along with a new senior class that’s ready to fill the Class of 2025’s shoes, the Jumbos have now gained seven new firstyears: defenders Sydney Kassel and Alyssa Ruiz, forwards Jordyn Miller and Mia Usatin, midfielders Claire Brady and Kate Loparco and goalkeeper Lindsay Fouche.
The Jumbos are excited by the prospective success women’s soccer players from the Class of 2029 will bring. “It has been so much fun watching the new [first-years] become a part of our family and how they fit in perfectly,” Aires wrote. “They are such a talented and caring group of girls that I know will have a great impact on our current team and the future of our program.”
Still, the upperclassmen put effort into ensuring their firstyears fit into the team dynamic.
“The most important thing to instill in the freshman … is our values as a team. One thing that makes our team so successful is how hardworking and supportive everyone is. [Head coach Martha Whiting] has always supported a team-first attitude and this truly benefits our team because we constantly work to make each other better,” Aires wrote.
This preseason, the Jumbos started with two practices a day to ensure they perfect their strategies prior to the season beginning. “We have been mostly working on the basic fundamentals that our team follows for our style of play,” Aires wrote. “For example, on our defensive end, we love
possessing the ball, continuing to build up the field, before we attack and break lines.”
Preseason also includes scrimmages, team meetings where players and coaches review film and go over game strategies and situational awareness and team bonding events.
Although the Jumbos are focusing their efforts on preparing for the beginning of the season, preparations for the postseason remain a priority as well. “The most talked about goals of the season so far follow our success path for the season, where we strive to accomplish finishing at the top of the NESCAC, winning the league tournament, and winning the national tournament,” Aires wrote.
While preseason holds their current focus and the
postseason is their final goal, the players have not forgotten about the joy of in-season play. “Each year we are very excited to play [Massachusetts Institute of Technology], since they are an out-of-league team and it’s always a very competitive game,” Aires wrote. This year, the coveted game takes place on Oct. 1 on Bello Field.
The most important games in the Jumbos’ season will be against their NESCAC opponents, but the Jumbos already feel ready to face them. “Our team is so excited to play against the rest of our league. Some of the teams graduated key players, but of course the NESCAC is a very competitive league and everyone is so talented,” Aires wrote.
Once the preseason ends, the Jumbos have a 15-game regular season to tough out before they get to the postseason, with nine of those being conference games. Aires, being a senior this year, has a new outlook this season. “I am focusing on staying present and soaking in every moment with my team. For the season, I have high hopes that this will be the most special one yet,” Aires wrote. “My time with Tufts women’s soccer has been so special and I can’t wait to end the journey chasing a national championship with my best friends one last time.”
With eight upcoming home games this season, Jumbos fans have plenty of opportunities to cheer on Aires and the rest of the women’s soccer team as they take on their 2025 season.
COURTESY TUFTS ATHLETICS
Tufts celebrates in game against Hamilton during 2024 season.
